UN declares Iraq ‘Level 3 Emergency’

The distribution of tents and
non-food aid continues as the population of Newroz camp
grows as more and more Yazidis arrive from Mount Sinjar in
Iraq. Photo: UNHCR

The United Nations has
designated its highest level emergency for the humanitarian
crisis in Iraq, citing the scale and complexity of the
situation, which is impacting tens of thousands of people
that have been forcefully displaced by the armed group,
Islamic State (IS).

The “Level 3 Emergency”
designation will “facilitate mobilization of additional
resources in goods, funds and assets to ensure a more
effective response to the humanitarian needs of populations
affected by forced displacements,” said the Special Representative of the
UN Secretary-General for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov.

UN
officials are particularly concerned about the situation on
Sinjar Mountain, where families remain trapped and the
health conditions are quickly deteriorating.

Among them,
Marzio Babille, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Representative in Iraq, who also confirmed that the agency
and other humanitarian actors are stepping up efforts to
meet the growing needs of those who are being extracted from
the Mountain, while helping a further 12,000 displaced
Christians sheltering in the Kurdish capital, Erbil.

The
town of Zakho near the Turkish border is hosting some
100,000 displaced Iraqis, mainly from Sinjar and Zumar, who
fled in the previous week. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that the Dohuk Governorate, in
which Zakho is located, is now hosting close to 400,000
displaced Iraqis, including Yazidis, Christians, Shabak,
Kakai, Armenian and Turkman minorities – some of whom have
endured repeated displacement.

UN World Food Programme (WFP) Country
Director Jane Pearce and UNHCR Representative Shoko
Shimozawa pledged to support the Dahuk Governorate in its
considerable efforts to meet the needs of those
displaced.

In addition, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is working the local authorities
and partners to distribute hygiene supplies and clothing to
more than 1,300 pregnant women, and medical supplies to
support 150,000 people.

There are only three other
countries in the world that share a Level 3 emergency
status: Central African Republic, South Sudan, and
Syria.

Speaking by telephone from Iraq on behalf of the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
Kieran Dwyer said the priority status will allow aid workers
to “do everything to save lives right
now.”

“Humanitarian organizations, in a time that
there are so many crises, have to be able to prioritize,”
said Mr. Dwyer. “It means that when we make decisions
about rapidly mobilizing staffing and resources… Iraq is
right up there in the top priority for immediate emergency
action now.”

The decision to raise the level was made by
a coordinating body comprised of UN representatives and
non-governmental organizations. Based on Mr. Dwyer’s
briefing, the decision was made in the context of the 1.2
million people displaced in Iraq since January, coupled with
the rapidly deteriorating security situation that continues
to cause people to be displaced.

Earlier today, the UN
official visited Dohuk Governorate and spoke with people
displaced, as well as aid workers and local officials, about
the situation on Sinjar Mountain.

“They do not feel safe
to go home,” he told the journalists. “Nobody went up
that mountain because they really wanted to. They fled for
their lives. And they have not been able to return to their
homes, and they know they cannot return to their
homes.”

There are at least several thousand people still
on the mountain, Mr. Dwyer said. He confirmed, however, that
based on accounts from local authorities, “large
numbers” of people were able to come off the mountain in
the last few days.

The support of the international
community and the commitment of the regional authorities are
“extraordinary,” he said, but more needs to be done to
provide the displaced people with the protection and the
shelter they urgently need.

Meanwhile in New York, a UN
spokesperson reported that Deputy Secretary-General Jan
Eliasson met with Bishop Sarhad Jammo and Bishop Francis of
Iraq's Chaldean American Community, leading a delegation of
Iraqi Christian representatives and community leaders from
throughout the United States.

According to the
spokesperson, Mr. Eliasson recognized the serious plight of
religious minorities in Iraq at the hands of so-called
Islamic State forces. He expressed his deep compassion for
the victims and affected communities.

He assured the
delegation that the United Nations is now taking urgent
humanitarian action. He also underlined the need for global
solidarity and support to address the needs of these
afflicted
communities.

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